China's Type 96 Main Battle Tank Is No Match for the M1 Abrams

Here's What You Need to Know: The baseline Type 96 MBT weighed forty-one tons and boasted a maximum speed of around sixty-five kilometers per hour. The Type 96 grew out of earlier Chinese plans to modernize the second-generation Type 88 tank, which itself was a part of the PLA's ongoing efforts to replace the Type 59-a license-copied Soviet T-54A tank. The tank boasted a more powerful 730-horsepower engine as compared to its predecessors in the Type 80 series. The baseline Type 96 MBT weighed forty-one tons and boasted a maximum speed of around sixty-five kilometers per hour, which likewise posed a marked improvement over earlier 80-series tanks. Citing Chinese military publication Tank & Armoured Vehicle, Global Times noted that the Type 96B features over 100 new modifications. Despite these incremental improvements, the Type 96B can hardly be considered as China's answer to mature, well-rounded Russian and U.S. third-generation MBT platforms like the T-90A and M1A2 Abrams. According to the latest publicly available estimates, around 2,500 Type 96 and 96A tanks continue to serve in the PLA. Mark Episkopos is a national security reporter for the National Interest.